My Indie Author Mistake

If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t call my first writing guide Crack the Indie Author Code. It’s on my sales page and proclaims to everyone I’m indie. Don’t get me wrong. I’m proud to be indie! I make lots of friends here who are indie authors or are aspiring indie authors. I buy inde books and feature indie authors. I’ve learned and gained so much from being part of the indie community.

However, we shouldn’t look indie.

When someone picks up our books, it should not occur to them that it doesn’t come from a traditional (read: huge) publishing house.

A bookstore clerk looked at my books and loved them, adding that they obviously weren’t from CreateSpace. The logo on the spines for my publishing company is Ex Parte Press, but yes, the print copies are done by CreateSpace. His perception of where it came from affected his expectations.

To a lot of people, indie means amateurish. I know, it sucks and indie musicians and filmmakers don’t have this stigma. Lots of traditionally published books suck yadda yadda. We know. I’m not happy about unfair comparisons, either.

However, let’s help prejudiced people overcome those prejudices by fooling them. Make sure your cover is awesome, your writing is sharp and standards are high. Once they turn from readers to fans, let your indie freak flag fly.

Crack the Indie Author Code will be disappearing from my sales pages soon. It will still be for sale, but it will be pushed down the page by my This Plague of Days serial. It’s eight books plus the print version plus secret variations to come. That will take up a lot of real estate on my Amazon page.

7 Responses

Thanks for this! My first book, carefully edited and vetted, with a well-designed cover, was scorned for being published by my Dad, through the publishing company he established. It’s mine now, and I know that this is the very work I have yet to do.

Even as an indie writer I shy away from titles that simply *look* indie. Cover design and formatting are so so important. I know a lot of us can’t afford professional covers, but a writer should at least *attempt* a decent looking book.

I understand. The first cover I ever did sucked (but I got rid of it once I hooked up with Kit Foster of KitFosterDesign.com.) I think most people are trying their best and making that attempt but the learning curve is steep and we’re all somewhere on that curve. I’ve seen a lot more decent looking books lately. I’m sure the indie field is getting better.